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June 26, 1885 Execution

James Arcine and William Parchmeal were executed in Fort Smith on June 26, 1885 for a murder they committed thirteen years earlier. In November of 1872 Henry Feigel, a native of Sweden, was traveling in the Cherokee Nation. He was overtaken by two Cherokee Indians, James Arcine and William Parchmeal. They shot Feigel four times, crushed his skull with a large rock, and robbed the body of its clothing and 25 cents. Thirteen years passed before a diligent deputy marshal gathered the evidence to arrest Arcine and Parchmeal. Although a first trial ended in a hung jury, the second attempt resulted in a guilty verdict. Both men later confessed to the crime on the gallows.